Air New Zealand lands historic first evening flight in Queenstown

Air New Zealand has successfully operated the first evening flight into Queenstown in preparation for scheduled commercial services commencing next month.

1 May 2016

Saturday's proving flight was the first of several planned over the coming weeks ahead of the first commercial evening service on 23 May.

From this date the airline will operate a partial evening schedule between Auckland and Queenstown with the last flight arriving in Queenstown at 6.15pm before departing for Auckland at 6.50pm. The airline's full evening schedule will take effect from 3 July 2016 when the last departure from Queenstown will be 7:30pm and the last arrival at 9:35pm.

Air New Zealand Chief Flight Operations and Safety Officer Captain David Morgan says the implementation of evening flights has involved significant collaboration across multiple stakeholders.

"We've been working hard alongside the Queenstown Airport Corporation, New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Airways New Zealand to prepare for night operations. Extensive work has been done to upgrade the runway, airfield lighting and airline procedures and training.

"It really is a milestone for New Zealand aviation and we're proud to be the first airline to offer this service to customers which is sure to bring significant benefits to the Central Otago economy through the additional flights."

The airline has invested in the latest technology to enable it to operate evening flights in Queenstown under CAA requirements.

"Air New Zealand is the only airline that has this level of sophistication with Runway Overrun Protection System (ROPS) technology fitted onboard and demonstrates our commitment to safety. This additional technology complements the existing Head Up Display already fitted onboard our A320 aircraft," says Captain Morgan.

The full schedule will allow new and increased same day connections, as well as reduced connection times both to and from destinations across Air New Zealand's network - including Australia. The schedule will also see the airline grow capacity between Auckland and Queenstown by 15 percent in FY17 with an additional 100,000 seats.

Ends

Issued by Air New Zealand Public Affairs ph +64 21 747 320

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Air New Zealand is proud to be a member of Star Alliance. The Star Alliance network was established in 1997 as the first truly global airline alliance to offer worldwide reach, recognition and seamless service to the international traveller. Its acceptance by the market has been recognized by numerous awards, including the Air Transport World Market Leadership Award and Best Airline Alliance by both Business Traveller Magazine and Skytrax. The member airlines are: Adria Airways, Aegean Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air India, Air New Zealand, ANA, Asiana Airlines, Austrian, Avianca, Avianca in Brazil, Brussels Airlines, Copa Airlines, Croatia Airlines, EGYPTAIR, Ethiopian Airlines, EVA Air, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, SWISS, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, THAI and United. Overall, the Star Alliance network currently offers more than 18,500 daily flights to 1,330 airports in 192 countries.